Five Star Cleaning Tips From An Old Hand

As the owner of a small business, it is important that you maintain the overall cleanliness of the premises. Many small business owners use the services of a cleaning company to dust and vacuum the main office space; this leaves the communal spaces, such as the kitchen, the responsibility of all the staff who use it. Having a dirty and messy kitchen area can demotivate staff, so it is important to draw up plans so that everyone pitches in and helps to keep this kind of area clean and tidy. Let's look at how this can be done.

Keep the Equipment Stocked up

A good place to start is with the equipment needed to do the actual cleaning. Ensuring that you have certain items always in stock and available will go a long way to getting your staff to tidy up after they have used the kitchen. Keep the following items in stock at all times:

• Kitchen wipes or kitchen roll
• Sponges
• Antibacterial spray
• Scrubbing brushes for the microwave and grill
• Bags for the waste bin
• Towels or dishcloths for drying dishes

Members of staff are much more likely to use the cleaning supplies if it is always available to them, and can be encouraged to get into a routine of tidying up immediately after using the microwave or the grill.

Draw Up a Rota

From here, you can draw up a rota. The rota designates responsibility to a different member of staff to check the communal areas at the end of every working day, or at the end of every second working day, depending on the size of your business. Their responsibilities can include discarding any litter lying around, such as empty sugar sachets, disposing of any moldy or rotting food, taking out the trash and wiping down the area ready for the next day. Making a rota ensures that everyone does their part to help maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen area.

Food Deadlines

It is also a good idea to make it clear to members of staff that any food kept in the fridge or in the fruit bowl will be subject to a deadline. It is unhealthy to have fruit rotting away in the bowl or milk that has gone off in the fridge. Make sure your staff understands that when they bring food in, they have a certain amount of time to eat it, or it will be disposed of. This helps to keep the whole area looking tidy.

It won't take long for everybody to get used to these small changes and this will go a long way to helping you maintain a clean and hygienic kitchen area.